The Vassal Academy Ch. 08

Ann parked in the back, where common sense said staff was supposed to park. She carried her first suitcase upstairs and was coming back down for another one when she saw all three slaves lined up and waiting next to her car. "It's OK I can get it." Ann said automatically.

Jeannette stepped forward and said. "Mistress, may I speak with you?"

Ann frowned and nodded and took a couple steps away. Jeannette stood close and kept her head down. "Mistress, part of my duties as the lead slave is to advise the apprentice trainers." Jeannette said.

"I kind of figured that after this morning." Ann said.

"Mistress, you're a Master. It's improper for you to carry things while we are standing idle. Even your personal items." Jeannette explained. "Please assign us to this task."

Ann looked at her and frowned. Keeping her voice low she asked. "Am I permitted to wipe my own sainted ass?"

Jeannette turned and said to the others in a louder voice. "Mistress instructs you to carry her bags up to her room. Staff room five. You know which one Diane, help Geneva find it and then show her the staff floor."

Ann was almost angry, and watched as the two girls carried the other suitcase and box upstairs. Jeannette waited and said. "Forgive me Mistress. I'll expect punishment for issuing orders without your permission. However, it's important for a slave to feel like a servant. It's important for a Master to be in command, and it's important that a Master never speak in a degrading manner about any other Master before a slave, even herself."

Ann frowned and said. "If what I did was wrong, why would I punish you for correcting me?"

"Mistress, it allows you to learn how to command, and how to punish. For a short while I'll be helping to guide your hand, then I'll back away, and your hand will need no guidance." Jeannette answered.

"So I have to punish you, even though I was wrong?" Ann asked to clarify.

"Mistress, you're never wrong, even when you are not entirely correct." Jeannette said. "You are a Master, and I'm helping you transition to that frame of mind."

"That's funny." Ann said smiling. "OK, I guess we'll get to your punishment. Since I have an idea that I'm the one being taught a lesson, I think that ten instead of twenty for this infraction."

"Yes Mistress." Jeannette said keeping her head down. "You're learning Mistress. You didn't ask me what the punishment should be, you decreed it. That's excellent Mistress."

Ann led Jeannette to the office where again she had the riding crop and again she turned and found Jeannette standing with her hands behind her head and her legs spread. She quickly placed ten sharp blows up and down Jeannette's ass and the tops of her thighs.

Jeannette fell to her knees when it was over and said. "Thank you Mistress, Thank you for punishing me."

Ann felt a twinge of discomfort, and at the same time a small heat. She was starting to get off on the feeling of power this place gave you. "Good Jeannette, now I'll assume you have duties to attend to. Where might I find Master Devon?"

"Master is in his office Mistress, Thank you Mistress." Jeannette said and stood gracefully and walked from the office to go back to her work.

Ann walked in and said. "You know, it's kind of weird, but I understand her a little better all the time."

"Yeah, I heard the snap of the crop. What did she do this time?" Devon asked smiling.

"She issued orders in my name, without me giving them." Ann said. "Felt kind of strange punishing her for doing the right thing, when I was wrong."

"You weren't wrong. You never are." Devon answered.

"Yeah, that's going to take some getting used to as well."

Devon leaned back. "Jeannette is sort of like the Sergeant Major of this place, the senior enlisted person in the army?"

"I know what a Sergeant Major is." Ann said with a hint of exasperation in her voice.

"They report to the Commander, and that would be me. Advising of things that the officers could or should do differently. At the same time, they are extremely deferential to the junior officers in public, offering absolute loyalty, and at the same time, advice and guidance." Devon explained anyway. "Most importantly, they are an example of what the troops should be like. In our case, she's a senior slave, and the lead slave. She is over the other slaves, and under every master, including you. She will not stop you, unless your actions are putting someone at risk of injury." Devon finished.

"So if I give an excessive punishment, and I seem to be guided to the crop, then Jeannette will endure it, and later mention it to you, so you can correct me? Why wouldn't she just say that it was too much?" Ann asked.

"Because she can't overrule you except in cases of risk of injury, life, or limb." Devon said. "I can, but won't be there to do so. I can explain it to you later, which is why you're an apprentice trainer, and not a full trainer." Devon said. "The rest of us will be working with you, to teach you the small things that make a big part of our job."

"I'm almost afraid to find out some of those things, and I'm interested to know what they are." Ann said after a moment's consideration. "It's sort of like watching a car crash. It's horrifying, and you can't look away."

"You'll get used to it, and when that happens, you'll be hooked on this lifestyle for the rest of your life." Devon said. He glanced at the clock and said. "Lunch is just around the corner, would you like to freshen up before we dine?"

"Yeah, but I ran into Jack Mitchell at my apartment." Ann said. "He tried to talk me out of this."

"It would appear he was unsuccessful." Devon said. "Bad?"

"Not as bad as I thought it would be. We're going to have problems with him, you know that."

"Yeah, I figure the Fire Marshall's the next step if we don't nip this in the bud." Devon said. "Do you think he'd come to dinner?"

"He might, but I'd suggest leaving the floor show out of the dinner plans." Ann said. "He's less hip than I am."

Devon laughed and said. "That's a square all right." He picked up the phone and dialed the sheriff's department. He explained to Sheriff Mitchell that he hoped to clear up any misunderstanding, and invited both the Sheriff and the County Attorney to come personally and tour the facility, and dine with them. Devon then asked how it could be considered harassment when they were invited. He clinched it with. "As good as they are, even my attorneys would have trouble making that case."

The Sheriff called back in ten minutes and said that both he and the County Attorney would arrive at four, for a tour and dinner at six.

Devon went to lunch and informed the staff. "We have guests tonight. The Chief Law enforcement officer of this county, and the attorney that advises the county elders."

Ann raised an eyebrow. "And the floor show?"

"I'm considering an exhibition of sorts." Devon said. "I don't really have anyone trained up to the standards of dinner parties that I'd hoped. However with Jeannette on the job, all is well in hand." He turned and issued orders. "Rebecca work with the slaves this afternoon and get them as tight as you can. Andre, see what Chef can do for dinner, apologize for the short notice, tell him I intend to introduce him to our guests."

Ann watched as Devon issued orders, giving each a responsibility besides him and her. Thomas would have all the training room doors open, and all the lights up and on and bright. He would have the safety alarms set to ring through the house as part of a demonstration of safety. Geneva would be available to describe treatments of various injuries and the medical practice.

Devon finished lunch and said. "People, we have one chance, just one, to show the Sheriff we're an above board and honest. If we screw this up tonight, we can expect to have an adversarial relationship with local law enforcement for the next few years." Devon set his napkin down. "I'd prefer an amicable relationship, it's far easier than instructing the security officers at the gate and the seawall to demand a warrant when the police ask him what time it is."

Thomas raised a hand. "Devon, why are we trying this today? Why not prep for another day or even two?"

"Because the Sheriff stopped Ann this morning at her apartment. The scene was tense as you can imagine, and he left feeling hurt, and betrayed. That resentment is probably even now giving him motivation to go over our permits, and our zoning to make sure we're authorized as a commercial enterprise. I'm guessing that if we don't put a stop to this, the parade of inspectors stars next week. The fire inspector, health inspector, building inspector, and the inspector of utilities will all take their turn to disrupt us. As that's going on, you can expect the Sunday Sermons to inform the populace at large that a den of perversion has cropped up in their fair community." Devon waved his hands. "Of course the police would be unable to prevent this patriotic display of first amendment rights, and we would have to wait months before it settled down enough to get some clients in here."

"Point taken Devon." Thomas said. "We'll be ready as we can be."

"Let's hope it's enough to keep this low key for a while longer. God willing, we'll manage to convince the legal authority in the county that we're not a bunch of sadistic nuts." Devon said slyly.

"You believe in God?" Ann asked somewhat astounded.

"Certainly, and I'm just as certain that She has a wicked sense of humor. How else do you explain the idea of two family rule for the last twenty years?" Devon smiled. "Bush, Clinton, Bush, and now Clinton is running again. I wonder if it will be Jeb, or Jenna Bush after Hillary?"

Devon called Geneva and showed her the room on the training floor that had been empty and was now designated as a medical treatment, not medical play, room. He showed her the medical supplies they had already gotten, and got a list from her of things she'd like to have, given the probability of injury types. Devon agreed to get the items and left Geneva to arrange and sort the various bandages, splints, wraps, cold packs, and items. He had instructed her as to what the Medical system should work like, and agreed to her every suggestion.

"Master, I feel like I'm giving instructions to you." Geneva had said at one point.

"No, you're giving me the benefit of your experience. It is greater than mine in the area of medicine, and I would be a jackass of epic proportions not to recognize that. Being a Master means making decisions based upon information. If you are the subject matter expert, the Specialist if you see my point, then why would I who hasn't had any training in this area consider my knowledge superior. Serving your Master means giving him advice in areas you may be better trained in, not commanding him. You're doing well Geneva, do what you've been taught, and you'll keep doing well." He had then shown her one of the knives as an example of what he intended to include with every kit and she looked at the Spyderco blade and frowned.

"What is it slave?"

"Master, if I may be so bold as to offer a suggestion." Geneva began.

"Yes, of course." Devon said. "In this, your advice is most welcome."

"Master, I'd suggest a Swiss Army Knife. They just came out with one called the rescue. It has a curved blade like this, for cutting webbing and seatbelt's, should work great on straps and ropes in a bondage emergency. It also has a straight blade that opens with one hand. For cutting ropes or other items. It also has the usual screwdriver attachments that can pry in addition to the other things. One neat feature is that it glows in the dark, and if we lose power, that might be handy if we drop it while trying to free a trainee." Geneva shrugged. "A lesson we learned in Iraq, you'll drop things at the worst possible time."

Devon nodded. "I'll order a dozen of these knives right away. Thank you Geneva. As you see, I've never had that happen, drop an important tool in the worst possible moment. It can happen, of course, but I've been lucky so far."

Geneva smiled. "I still feel like we're reversing roles Master."

"Not at all. You're trusted with this by us. We rely upon you to serve us with your knowledge and training and experience Geneva. That's your duty to your Master. Always serve your Master to the best of your ability. A wise Master will accept your wisdom and knowledge as I have." Devon left Geneva to set the kits in order and lay out the supplies.

"Yes Master, thank you Master." Geneva said. She had liked the term Specialist. She had liked being a Specialist in the Army, a glorified private, or full bird private as it was jokingly called in reference to the eagle in the middle of the insignia.

She knew she was well trained as a Medic. Iraq, and her experiences had proven that. She actually looked forward to serving Master that way, you know, wrapping a sprain, or putting an ice pack on a bruise. She opened the box for the automatic defibrillator and checked it out. It's batteries were flat, but that was expected. She plugged them in and set them to charging. She'd run them through the test cycle later.

Setting up the floor emergency medical kits. At least one for Admin, One for Staff floor. Two each for the training floors, one for the Dungeon. Include CPR, and heavy cutters to remove the potential victim from the bondage devices. She set the Spyderco blade aside, and then organized and started to store the medical supplies. She essentially set the room up as an aide station at the Fort. She decided that would be the best way, and made a note to request a more colorful sign for the door. The Brass door sign proposed did fit the decor, however when people were in distress, they would often miss a similar sign, which is why the Red Cross was used, it stood out and was painfully obvious. Then she had another thought and wrote the suggestion down. Master was depending upon her to see that as many of the contingencies were covered as possible. She had to do it right, because Master was trusting her with this task. She wasn't in charge, she was serving Master.

Rebecca had Diane and Jeannette in the dining room discussing the way the dinner would proceed. She gave Jeannette the task of preparing Geneva while Devon had the Sheriff in the administration area.

Diane hustled to help Chef, and Jeannette went to talk to Geneva while Rebecca went to check the sleeping areas. She found Andre walking the hallway with a notepad and smiled. "Andre, why am I not surprised to find you here?"

"Because like me, you're certain that unless you've checked it, it's not done." Andre said and they went to Admin to report the Sleeping wing was ready.

Devon finished emptying the last of the large plastic bins onto the Conference table, and then went back to laying out the props. No dildos, or videos. No vibrators or whips. Only documentation was here now.

"Jesus Christ, I had no idea the sex industry was so large." Ann said shaking her head.

"This is a small collection, our Lawyers have a room full of things. The argument being prepared in case a claim is made that we're a whorehouse." Devon said as he fanned out the church bulletins and then laid out a dozen Cosmopolitan issues.

"Devon, this is an incredible display, why didn't you show it to us before?"

"Frankly, because you're arrivals were always right after you told me you weren't coming back, it has to be presented properly." Devon said.

Looking at his watch he nodded and said. "OK, let's get the training records out and put them out for our guests."

Devon placed the two active training files on the table, and walked Ann through them before the Sheriff arrived. He wanted her familiar with this part of the presentation if nothing else.

The alarms sounded and Devon shook his head. Probably Thomas checking them to make sure they were working.

"Sorry Devon, wanted to double check them." Came from the speaker in Devon's radio.

"No Problem Thomas, double checking things is not a bad habit." Devon said and laughed.

Devon was in his office at three thirty and flipping through a magazine as he searched the net for the knives that Geneva had suggested. He found the right website and watched a promotional video. He was suitably impressed, and went to Amazon, where they had the premier account and bought twenty of them. Deciding to also have one in each training room in case of a bondage emergency. He printed out the receipt, and emailed Dominique information on the purchase and his reasoning. He had just about finished the email when the phone rang and Security announced that the Sheriff was on his way up to the house.

"Well, it's show time." Devon said. Picking up his radio he hit the button. "Jeannette, front door."

The Sheriff noticed that Jeannette was wearing a slightly longer version of the slave dress, but still had her red collar on. He followed Jeannette to the office and introductions were made.

"Sheriff Mitchell, Mr. Robertson, thank you both for indulging my attempts to assuage any fears you may have." Devon said charmingly.

Devon accepted their greetings and asked if they would like refreshments. They declined at this time.

Devon led them to the Conference room and began. "Here you'll find books, pamphlets, flyers, magazines, all of it mainstream, that is to say, aimed at the general public." Devon waved at a display that filled the entire table, which was large enough to sit sixteen comfortably. "All of this is on how to have a better, more rewarding sex life."

Devon pointed. "Books on sex for dummies have better sex. Dr. Ruth, and an interesting book called the Submissive Wife." Devon continued. "Pamphlets offered for couples weekends away and various other activities. Here we have flyers from churches offering much the same activity, only with a more Religious specific bent. However, in each of those flyers you'll find sex as part of the planned discussions."

The Sheriff nodded his head slowly. Robertson shook his. He could imagine this display being shown to a Jury and groaned inwardly. "I presume this is potential evidence? In case of a lawsuit or criminal charge."

Devon smiled. "No, this is a display for tours such as this. The evidence collection is much more extensive, according to the lawyers."

Robertson nodded, it would be.

The Sheriff picked up one flyer that was on top, it was from his own church and he vaguely remembered it. A couples weekend all right, and sex was on the agenda. He placed it back where he found it and said. "Impressive display. I see women's magazines, men's magazines, and a dozen or so News Magazines."

"Yes, to show that sexual education is far more mainstream than might be assumed." Devon said with his easy charm.

Ann was standing behind the table and hadn't said anything. "Sheriff, to help acclimate you with our procedures, we've also taken the liberty of showing you our standard training files. Each class is noted, and observations of the trainers as well as impressions are noted."

Sheriff Mitchell looked at her for a moment and then looked at the files. "Only two files?"